Boys Basketball: Cheltenham downs Wissahickon

CHELTENHAM — Both Cheltenham and Wissahickon came into the game undefeated at 3-0 in the Suburban One American, so at the end of the night one team was going home with that ugly one in the loss column. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Panther can attack the middle, a vulnerability that haunted them so far this season.

“It’s outstanding, anytime you beat Wissahickon it’s a huge win,” Cheltenham coach Brian Johnson said. “They are very well coached and have some of the best guards in our league. It’s a good win for us.”

Cheltenham use it’s inside play and jump shooting to earn a convincing 57-45 win over Wissahickon. The Panthers now share first with only Norristown, the only two undefeated teams in the Sub One American. Despite the Trojans attempt to shoot their way back into the game, the Panthers closed in the fourth quarter and got a big 25 point performance from guard Aaron McGlawn.

“I think we just have to play a little smarter than we did,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said. “We aren’t going to win turning the ball over as much as we did. Cheltenham was able to force us into some tough plays and tough shots. I saw some head-hanging, but we need to stay focused.”

The opening eight minutes was fast-paced, as you would expect from these two teams. Wissahickon’s Chris Vila had an active first quarter, scoring seven points including a three-pointer, while Cheltenham’s Aaron McGlawn and Rashawn Reed had four points apiece. The Trojan’s appeared to be attacking the bucket more than usual in the first, but that was no easy task against a good middle for the Panthers. Still, two three pointers were the difference in the quarter as Wissahickon went into the second up 13-10.

Cheltenham really showed their advantage over the Trojans in the second quarter and it’s something that was exploited in its game against La Salle: a soft middle. The physical Panthers banged inside and mixed that with a couple treys to take advantage of a Wissahickon team that lacks size. McGlawn ripped the Trojans for seven points en route to a 16-point quarter. The visitors only managed 10, including two three-pointers by Vila. Once again, the reliance on the three hurt Wissahickon and the Panthers went into halftime up 26-23.

Things started to fall apart for Wissahickon after halftime. Not only were the Trojans not hitting open threes, but they had a hard time scoring all together. Mid-range shots and layups refused to go down for the most part, while the Panthers took advantage and continued to attack the paint with an occasional three-ball. Cheltenham ate glass all night, every player out-rebounding their defensive assignment. McGlawn led the Panthers with six points in the quarter, which tied the amount Wissahickon scored as a team. By the end, Cheltenham had a double-digit lead heading into the final period.

“They are a little smaller than they were least year, so the plan was too attack the middle,” Johnson said. “We are able to go inside to our bigs this year and we have had some success with that. I think one of the issues that we have had is playing a complete game, I think for the most part today we were able to do that and sustain our energy the entire game.”

The fourth quarter was able closing up shop. Although Wissahickon hit four three-pointers in the period including two from Chris Carradorini off the bench, they could not stop the Panthers from scoring in the paint. When the Trojans tried to clog the middle, they left perimeter shooters open and got buried for it. McGlawn hit all eight of his free throw attempts and the Panthers took care of business from the charity stripe as a team, going 10-13 in the final eight minutes.

“We are going to grow,” Wilson said. “It’s not the end of the world. I know the guys wanted to take control of the league and set up a tough matchup with Norristown or Upper Merion later on, but we didn’t do the things we needed to do to win and we can’t win when we are not at our best.”